You Will Now Become a Sofa Genius

It's the biggest piece of furniture in your house and command central for your family—you need to love your couch. Renew your romance with the one you've got by using this smart advice from designers, or start fresh with their gorgeous but affordable sofa picks.

Find the right sofa

Find the right sofa

"Your living room is your family hub," says Jonathan Scott of HGTV's Property Brothers. "It's the place where you lounge, watch TV, play games. And your sofa is the center of it all." So true—and raise your hand if you're not exactly thrilled with what you have right now. That's why we enlisted top design gurus for low-cost ways to upgrade this crucial piece. Buying a new one is an option, but so is refurbishing a flea-market find, giving the couch you own a brand-new look with accessories, and rearranging furniture to show everything off more stylishly. Now you can take that one or two grand you'd spend on a new sofa and put it toward something even more important, like a vacation.

Old sofas are good sofas

Old sofas are good sofas

Follow these tips from HGTV star Cortney Novogratz to get a one-of-a-kind piece on a budget.

Study the bones. "Any part of the sofa that deals with comfort—the fabric, fill, or springs—is easy to fix, but avoid cracks in a wooden frame and arms that wiggle," Novogratz says. Those are big-budget repairs.

Learn to barter. "Politely point out a few flaws, like dings in the wood or stains, and ask for a lower price," she says. Other ways to strike a deal at a flea market: Shop at the end of the day, pay in cash, or offer to take the piece home now.

Get the best price on reupholstery without hauling your sofa around. You'll want to collect a few quotes from upholsterers, so try a 21st-century way: Arrange a Skype call. And if you're re-covering the whole couch, ask the fabric store for a bulk rate.

Fix up some of it. If the original fabric is in good shape and you like it, just add accent piping to the cushions, Novogratz says—it's custom and inexpensive.

…and here's how to keep it clean

If your family is particularly spill-prone (you know who you are), make life easier by buying a microsuede couch or slipcover. "The tight-knit fabric prevents liquids from instantly soaking in, buying you an extra minute to grab a rag," says Rebecca Andrews, a senior furniture buyer for West Elm.

Pretreat upholstery with a spray like Guardsman's Fabric Protector ($9.99; shopguardsman.com), and reapply a few times a year. Property Brothers's Jonathan and Drew Scott love that it's safe enough to use around kids and pets.